Ambulance provider leaves area early

Rural/Metro Inc. announced on Tuesday that it would cease operations in Tuscaloosa, Northport and all other areas of Tuscaloosa County on July 31.

By Jason MortonStaff Writer

TUSCALOOSA | Starting next month, all Tuscaloosa County residents will rely on the services of one ambulance provider.Rural/Metro Inc. announced on Tuesday that it would cease operations in Tuscaloosa, Northport and all other areas of Tuscaloosa County on July 31.That end date is about one month early for Rural/Metro’s departure from the city of Tuscaloosa. The company recently lost out to NorthStar Paramedic Service in a bid process to be the city’s lone ambulance provider.As a result, Rural/Metro’s final day of operating within the city limit was supposed to be Aug. 31But an unintended consequence of the City Council’s selection of NorthStar as its sole ambulance provider is that Rural/Metro will not be profitable enough to continue operations in other areas of Tuscaloosa County, said Carl Hartley, operations manager for the Tuscaloosa County office of Rural/Metro.“It comes down to the volume of the calls you need to keep your doors open,” Hartley said.City officials said Tuscaloosa residents should not be affected by the early departure of Rural/Metro. “I don’t think the people here will see a difference,” said Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Service Chief Alan Martin.Likewise, Edgar Calloway, the operations manager for NorthStar, said the company would be ready to take over as the city and county’s sole ambulance provider upon Rural/Metro’s departure.“We really don’t have any concerns,” Calloway said, noting that NorthStar is adding more ambulances and employees in preparation for the transition.Calloway said NorthStar intends to operate seven additional ambulances in Tuscaloosa when Rural/Metro’s fleet of five city ambulances departs.“We’re going to overshoot in the beginning to make sure there is no break in service,” Calloway said.A Northport official could not be reached Tuesday evening, but county fire service officials said they are skeptical.Stan Odom, chief of the Coaling Volunteer Fire Department, said rural fire service providers are worried that one ambulance service won’t be enough to serve all county residents.“Are we going to get the service out here that we’ve had in the past or is it going delay our service?” Odom asked regarding Rural/Metro’s departure. “We’re going to have to get with the county commissioners and see what’s going to go on.”Odom said he’d spoken with NorthStar about these concerns and had been assured that ambulance service would be kept at a level he expects.“But that remains to be seen,” Odom said. “So, yeah, that is a concern to all of us out in the county, and hopefully (NorthStar) will step up and provide the service that we need out here in the county.”The number of non-emergency calls for both companies varied each day, but, on average, the number of emergency runs that both NorthStar and Rural/Metro handled daily amounted to 15 within the city of Tuscaloosa, three in the city of Northport and two in all areas of the county outside these municipalities.Calloway said that NorthStar is prepared to have its emergency call workload across these three regions doubled, and he added that residents may even see an improvement in response time for its non-emergency services.“It will actually make it easier for us to answer and manage the calls ... when you know you’re responsible for the entire thing,” Calloway said.Headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., Rural/Metro arrived in Tuscaloosa County last year to compete with ambulance providers NorthStar and American Medical Response, which had been in this market for years.Rural/Metro’s arrival prompted the City Council to hire a consultant to determine whether the city’s 90,000 residents were adequately being served by three competing ambulance services. Officials were concerned a third provider would weaken the market and reduce the quality of service for residents, but the city lacked the ability to deny Rural/Metro a license.American Medical Response announced in April 2010 that it would be leaving Tuscaloosa.Still, the consultant’s findings indicated in November that the city would be best served by one provider, and the City Council formalized the conclusion with the selection of NorthStar in June.The contract that NorthStar won meant that Rural/Metro’s contract would be terminated on Aug. 31, but Hartley requested that Rural/Metro be allowed out of its contract a month early.The council’s Public Safety Committee approved the request on Tuesday. The full City Council is expected to do the same during its next regular meeting on July 26.